I have a life simulator.

"That's right, it's the Atlantic Beach Pie!"

"How's it going?"

Kitagawa Ryo invited the person and the pie to sit down at the dining table in the living room, and after closing the door, he raised his chin and began to examine the pie placed in the middle of the table.

To be fair, this is a classic baking style for beginners. Unless someone deliberately tries to make a bad attempt or has absolutely no talent, the result is usually quite presentable. This one baked by Hiyori Shiina is no exception:

"As for the appearance and smell, there are no problems; they are very standard."

"Then let's try it. I'll go get the knife, fork, and plate."

After bringing over the knife, fork, and plate, Shiina Hiyori volunteered to cut the pie, first serving a piece to Kitagawa Ryo, and then serving herself a piece.

After exchanging a glance, the two of them put their own portions into their mouths together.

"Yes, Not Bad."

After chewing and swallowing the pie in his mouth, Kitagawa Ryo gave his fair assessment:

"It's just a simple sweetness, and simply delicious."

"That's good, after all, it's my first time making a finished product."

Shiina Hiyori seemed fairly satisfied with the taste, and after taking another bite, she mumbled indistinctly:

"Actually, I really wanted to make the blueberry pie that Liang used to make for me, but then I found it was too difficult for a beginner like me."

"Just take it one step at a time. If Hiyori wants to eat some, I can make one in the next couple of days. Hiyori can come and watch my baking process and help out or something."

For Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori, blueberry pie is indeed a dessert with a lot of nostalgic connotations, especially after the latter regained her memories of that simulation and belatedly realized that the two of them had eaten blueberry pie together many times on the campus of Dongyu University back then.

While chatting about some details of baking, Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori quickly devoured an entire Atlantic Beach Pie.

"Although desserts are said to be a girl's second stomach, I'm definitely not going to eat dinner tonight. I feel like I'm going to exceed my sugar and calorie intake limit."

"Does Hiyori still care about this now?"

"I guess I've been exercising this semester."

As she spoke, Hiyori Shiina unconsciously touched and weighed her thigh.

"Because I saw Arisu's excellent performance in the mixed training camp special exam at the beginning of this year, I suddenly made up my mind."

Despite being considered physically inept alongside Sakayanagi Arisu during last year's special exam on the deserted island—one dragging down Kitagawa Ryo's group physically, and the other completely relying on Ibuki Mio—half a year later, the other had become a training expert, not only winning first place in the sports festival but also performing exceptionally well in the mixed training camp special exam, which greatly impressed Shiina Hiyori.

"And then, Xue also helped me a lot."

Snow?

Suddenly hearing an unexpected yet perfectly logical name from Shiina Hiyori's mouth, Kitagawa Ryo curiously repeated it.

"Yes, after she heard about my plan to exercise, she sent me her rehabilitation exercise plan from when she was discharged from the mental hospital. She helped me a lot. She was very kind and helpful to me."

Hiyori Shiina nodded, seemingly quite impressed with the snow.

If Hotaru were here, she'd probably immediately complain that you had no idea the first half of that dream was completely based on your hairstyle and hair color.

While Kitagawa Ryo was still unaware of the specific details of the insane dream Hotaru had designed for Yuki, a little thought would allow him to understand Yuki's true intentions in getting close to Shiina Hiyori.

"There are definitely qualities in Hiyori that Yuki admires, or rather, it seems like Yuki isn't the only one?"

"Ah, something like that, it seems like Hui also said something to me."

Perhaps because the topic had been brought up suddenly, Shiina Hiyori's gaze shifted uncomfortably for a moment before she continued, looking somewhat troubled:

"Actually, I'm not really aware of it myself."

"If Hiyori were self-aware, it would completely change the flavor, and I also like the part of Hiyori that she is not self-aware."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo's gaze also wandered, clearly recalling Hiyori from Karuizawa Kei's first simulation. It was fortunate that the memories sealed in that ring were from the second simulation; if it had been the first, both Shiina Hiyori and Horikita Suzune would have been in serious trouble.

After all, if anyone were to follow suit and do the same thing again, Kitagawa Ryo would truly be in tears. He didn't want to have to deal with two new people right after solving one psychological problem only to have another one pop up.

"Speaking of which, what are Ryo's thoughts on this special summer exam that has been confirmed to be held in Tokyo? Many students in the class are quite looking forward to this special exam, or more precisely, they want to replicate the legend of Class D last year."

"Although I've only been here for a day, I can clearly feel that the situation in Class D is different from before. This summer special exam shouldn't be academic, so if we work hard, we might actually get good results."

Kitagawa Ryo helped Shiina Hiyori wash and put away the plates, cutlery, and forks, and also cleaned up the crime scene (the kitchen). Kitagawa Ryo then naturally started chatting with Shiina Hiyori about the class.

If Shiina Hiyori didn't pay much attention to or have much affection for the class when she first started school a year and a half ago, then from a certain point in time, she gradually began to care about the class and her friends.

If we trace it back to its source, it seems to be a chain reaction caused by his actions during the special exam on the deserted island last year.

"Actually, when our class was taking a special exam with everyone agreeing on the location and format of the summer special exam, Ryuen also wanted us to choose Tokyo, because he felt that the summer special exam in Tokyo was just another form of survival test on a deserted island, only the location was in a metropolis of steel and concrete."

"A description very much in the style of Longyuan."

"Right? He guessed the exam would be like a variety show, a challenge where you have to survive in the city for a certain number of days with a certain amount of yen. Does Ryo think that's plausible?"

"I can't be sure what he's saying right now, since there's been absolutely no word on it. But in some ways, his speculation is pretty much the same as mine, otherwise the school wouldn't have chosen Tokyo as the exam location."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo was also somewhat speechless and choked with emotion:

"However, if that's really the case in the end, I feel like Ryuen's style will turn into a live demonstration of street scams."

"Let's just get Liang to go and move bricks and carry bags, so he doesn't drag the class down like he did in last year's special exam on the deserted island."

"Wow, all it takes is one command from Hiyori, and I'll contact the classmates to nominate you as the next leader of Class D."

"…Forget it then."

The two lay on the sofa. Shiina Hiyori slowly slid her upper body onto Kitagawa Ryo's lap, took his hands and placed them on her lower abdomen, and murmured in a relaxed manner with her eyes closed:

"I am not suited to be a class leader."

"Actually, if Liang were willing, Longyuan would definitely have put you in this position immediately. He told me about it a long time ago..."

"That doesn't really matter, because I always felt that this special exam would completely disrupt the class and even grade-level plans. It wouldn't be like last year's deserted island exam, which was conducted in groups. Instead, it would be completely individual, and you might not even be able to meet with students from the same school during the entire exam period."

"...Is it really that exaggerated?"

"Because Tokyo is very big, a completely different kind of big than an uninhabited island or a school campus."

Noticing that Shiina Hiyori was a little down, Kitagawa Ryo offered another word of comfort:

"Actually, this is just my guess. Maybe the school will just put everyone in one company for an internship in the end."

"Companies...internships...it all feels so distant yet so close...Liang, what do I think I can actually do after graduation?"

"It's up to Hiyori to decide. Of course, if Hiyori hasn't made up her mind, I can do what I did before... um, take care of you?"

"Has Liang said this to many people?"

"Only you."

"Wouldn't that be even worse? What if in the end I'm the only social outcast among everyone? No way."

Shiina Hiyori shook her head from side to side, then rolled to the left, resting her head against Kitagawa Ryo's waist and burying her face in his clothes:

"If all else fails, I'll write novels like my dad, but I won't follow any detective rules."

"I want to write a story about me and Ryo, where both the male and female protagonists are detectives and assistants, both criminals and accomplices."

"...That's the decision."

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

P.S. 2: The show "Case Kitchen" mentioned in this chapter does have a variety show version; those interested can check it out.

PS3: In fact, the theme that Hiyori wanted to write in the end could be referenced from Chinen Mikito's "The Glass Tower Mystery". The relationship between the male and female protagonists in that story is indeed like that, which is quite novel as a CP. However, the mystery design in this book can only be described as subtle.

Chapter 65: Let's try to talk about work.

"So, you two really did spend the entire night talking about how to create a mystery novel from scratch?"

Seeing the messages from Shiina Hiyori, Karuizawa Kei, who was originally half-lying on the edge of her bed in her dormitory room looking at her phone, suddenly became respectful, stood up straight, crossed her long legs in her pink and white pajamas, and began to frantically call Shiina Hiyori.

"How come I remember someone making such confident promises before today, but in the end they still fell short at the last minute?"

"And didn't he say that he's read at least eight or ten different kinds of plot books over the years? Hayasaka Rin-sensei and his 'Sorry Mystery' series are crying, you know?"

"The last person who stayed overnight and nothing happened was Fanbo, but that time the situation was special. This time I really can't figure it out."

After receiving several mocking messages from Karuizawa Kei, Shiina Hiyori struggled to defend herself, but in the end, all she could manage was a weak, stammering reply:

"But we're making good progress on the novel. We've pretty much finished discussing the character designs for the male and female leads and the general plot framework for the first part. By the way, I'm planning to write a long series."

"Ha, it's been ten years since I last played the senior student role, who only talked about work on a night when we were alone together."

"...But I don't know what to do? And it seems like the guy should be the one to take the initiative in these kinds of situations?"

"Then I can only say that your past persona is too deeply ingrained in people's minds. Perhaps in Ryo's heart, you are still the kind of literary girl whose love only stops at holding hands, hugging and kissing."

"But I clearly whispered those kinds of things to him at noon..."

"I don't think the things you said to Liang at the dinner table were more explicit than the 'Serene Mystery' series that you two enjoyed together years ago. Speaking of which, I recently watched it again when I had some free time and found it quite bizarre that you two finished it before you even reached junior high school—it seems like your threshold has been raised."

To verify her theory, Karuizawa Kei typed out a question again:

"If I asked Hiyori to recite ten lines of sexual description from traditional literature, could you write them?"

"One hundred sentences shouldn't be a problem?"

"So we're stuck at this step. I'm amazed by how amazing the way you and Ryo get along is."

Karuizawa Kei stretched her legs out again, braced herself against the headboard at the foot of the bed, and used the reaction force to comfortably place her head on the pillow. She tilted her head back, held up her phone, and continued to complain about her best friend.

"Belike has too much theoretical knowledge but completely insufficient practical experience."

To be honest, Karuizawa Kei had once wanted to open her memory palace and properly discuss with Shiina Hiyori the significance of her being the first to board the cruise ship last year. After all, since then, both Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami had subtly asked her about it. However, she didn't have Shiina Hiyori's ability to easily find relevant sentences in various classic literature and express them in a literary style, so she had never discussed this aspect directly with Shiina Hiyori before.

Actually, what she said wasn't wrong. Before that ring that suddenly appeared in reality, Shiina Hiyori and Kitagawa Ryo's relationship was indeed quite innocent. On that deserted island, in that stormy night that seemed like a gift from heaven, they only exchanged their first kiss. After that, it became even more mundane, and there were no romantic gestures on the cruise ship.

Theoretically, in this situation, Kitagawa Ryo, who has more relevant experience, should take the initiative to guide the conversation. However, after experiencing the trio of Amasawa Ichika, Sakayanagi Arisu, and Yuki, he began to cherish the interaction with Shiina Hiyori in this mode. Who wouldn't want precious rest time?

So the two of them are stuck at this last hurdle.

"If it weren't for the circumstances, I would love to use an online headset like in those light novels to command you in real time. Dating is war!"

"Wearing a headset is too easy to be discovered..."

"Why is Hiyori actually starting to consider the feasibility of this kind of thing?"

"Um, because I think it's actually a pretty good idea?"

Hiyori Shiina, who had just finished showering and was sprawled on her bed chatting with Megumi Karuizawa in her room, naturally sent the message:

"I don't feel embarrassed or anything because Hui is watching. On the contrary, I would feel more at ease if Hui were there."

"No, no, no, I don't have a penchant for watching people do this kind of thing. Besides, one of them is my lover, and the other is my best friend... Is this really not some kind of erotic story plot?"

Haha, so this is what "cool" is like for you? It's completely different where I am. If you can accept it, then watch the video I sent you.

Karuizawa Kei had even come up with the corresponding lines in her mind, but she quickly shook her head to throw these inexplicable fantasies away. Then, when she looked up, she saw Shiina Hiyori replying quite matter-of-factly:

"Even Hui can't just watch, can she?"

"?"

After slowly typing out a question mark, Karuizawa Kei also paused for a moment, then immediately resumed typing in frenzy mode to reply:

"Hey, hey, although we did discuss and confirm this during the deserted island and cultural festival last year, it hasn't come to this point yet. It's just that we accept each other and that the other person likes someone but won't ruin our relationship because of him."

"But I don't think this contradicts what Hui said."

"Stop—let me catch my breath."

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Karuizawa Megumi typed again to confirm:

"Excuse me, Hiyori Shiina, are you serious?"

"I've always been very serious about thinking about how to solve the problem."

Hiyori Shiina replied without the slightest hesitation:

"Hui, do you remember what you said to Liang on the phone after you met me during the special exam on the deserted island last year?"

“You said, ‘You got off easy.’”

"So, let's give him a break one more time."

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Student Council Activities Department, Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School.

Because it's close to the end of the semester, the student council is much busier than usual, especially with this large-scale special exam during the summer. Many peripheral tasks have also been assigned to the student council.